Welcome to Brooklyn, and the lovely little studio space of illustrator Olivia de Castro! You might recognize her from this recent library event, where she and other artists joined us to celebrate Ulises Carrión.
Vibrant and full of color and characters, Olivia’s illustrations capture moments and interactions with tremendous joy and energy (check out her portfolio here!). Her newest release, Great Idea Malia! (Holiday House, 2024) comes out this September. Here’s a sneak peek of the cover…
My commute to work every morning is pretty short, since my workspace is in my living room. Even though it’s small, I enjoy the coziness of my prewar apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I seem to be allergic to hanging up my art prints on the wall, so I like to prop them up along my desk instead. My goal is to eventually hang them all up in the style of a gallery wall; they are a great source of inspiration.
To start my day I always need a fresh mug of hot tea and a glass of ice cold water. If I don’t have at least 2 liquids on my desk at all times, I can’t get any work done! I work in mixed media and I start my illustrations with traditional mediums at my desk. My rolled pencil case includes a variety of tools that I can reach for in order to get the textures I want, including various watercolors, gouache, micron pens, colored pencils and markers.
My favorite tools at the moment are a simple mechanical pencil and my trusty Pentel brush pen. I always finish my pieces digitally after scanning in my textures and brushwork.
Even though I’m working in a smaller space, I am able to fit everything I need in my little corner. My desk and chair were passed down to me from my grandfather, and working at his desk makes me feel closer to him and my family. Having the flexibility to work from home is incredibly useful, it allows me to work comfortably in my living room or I can take my work on the road.
When I am not illustrating in my apartment, my favorite spots are my local coffee shop, the library, and even Prospect Park for a change of scenery and some fresh air.
Images by Matthew DePrizio, and courtesy of Olivia de Castro
My studio is a small room at the back of my house, in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. To get to it, you have to cross a patio that we filled with plants.
There is a split glass window with blue and orange borders, which is what I like the most about that space, because it lets in the light and looks right at a monstera with impressively large leaves.
Since I have small children and I like to change places to work, sometimes I move around the house and take “my studio” to different spaces. I like to share my materials and the creative process with them, so we often draw together, at the kitchen table or at a table in the patio. In that sense, it is common to see brushes and pencils in the kitchen, sketchbooks on the coffee table, Indian ink in the room where I sleep.
I wake up early and draw every morning with coffee. My studio is on the ground floor of our house. I create my art digitally, and I’ve cycled through various types of tablet and various drawing programs – there are lots of good options. Recently I like Procreate with an iPad pro.
This is the room I use for layout, framing, anything that benefits from great light. It’s basically just windows and a big table.
Here you can see the table in an unusually clean state. Our house, where my studio is, was built in 1845, so it has great natural light. The windows still have the original glass, which is a little wavy, and I love how that softens everything.
I spent most of my time in the computer and printer room. I have my big monitor here and in the winter I put a heated carpet under my desk (we’re in New England so it’s chilly) and my dog loves that. In the late afternoon there’s really great light – it’s my favorite time in the studio especially in the spring and summer when the days are long.
This room is for zoom calls and collaborative work.